[hidingmyname]

Not a cautionary tale, just a blog to vent my frustrations and record the experience.

I'm not in a position to give "advice" nor do I suggest anyone follows "advice".

If you're a new founder and about to get on the VC train, through the accelerator and out again at light speed, it's good to know that this is one way it can all end up. (Nobody really speaks about it anyhow)

[jt2190]

Here are some lessons I'm taking away from this article:

  > ... our initial desire to not raise a seed round was 
  > dismissed and we were thoroughly convinced that we had 
  > to continue on the VC rocket-ship in order to matter to 
  > anyone. My reluctance to do this was met by scoffs and 
  > dismissals from many others in the accelerator cohort...
  >  as well as by the mentors and investors who had offered 
  > their time, network and resources to help us succeed.

Lesson: VCs want founders to take larger risks with their company for the reward of a larger payoff. If the founders don't want to "bet the farm" like this, then they probably shouldn't be seeking out VC money, or at least wait until they're profitable enough to have a lot more negotiating leverage.

  > I didn’t believe the shit I was selling investors. This 
  > was not the company I put my life on the line to build.

Lesson: Founders have to push back on their investors when the investors don't understand the full ramifications of what they're asking the company to do. First-time founders often fail to push back because the investor/advisor line is blurry.

  > When I built this team, I didn’t build it with 
  > generalists and with people who could jump into any 
  > area of the business and get shit done. Instead, I built 
  > it with quality-minded perfectionists who build 
  > beautiful things.

Lesson: The founding team has to build two things: The product and the company that builds the product. Find people who can do both.

[31reasons]

For a VC your company is just 1 of 1000 they have invested in and so they are focused more on the numbers game. But for you it could be your life's work. It seems taking VC money early on is a big mistake for serious founders.